Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Is having a good wireless carrier important for fleet tracking? How do wireless carriers such as Verizon play a role in GPS tracking? GPS tracking uses a satellite to track vehicle locations. The location data is then sent back to a tracking company, such as IndusTrack, using a wireless network.

There are instances where data is sent back using satellite technology, but this is very rare. GPS tracking devices have on-board memory. This means that if a cell network is not available, the data can be stored and sent later when a cellular connection is available. This is effective if you are only looking at data at the end of the day or you do not need the real time location of vehicles. IndusTrack uses the Verizon network to provide near real-time information about vehicle locations. The data is sent from the devices every 30 seconds and, through the Verizon network, transmitted very quickly back to the IndusTrack cloud software. There are many GPS tracking companies who send data every one to two minutes, and with a network delay and poor coverage, it can be delayed even further. With 30 second updates and the coverage and reliability of the Verizon network combined with IndusTrack software, dispatchers can focus on doing their jobs instead of the reliability and performance of the data. These quicker updates and the reliable Verizon network provide a very accurate picture of the path of a vehicle. For example: on post route analysis using breadcrumb types of reports, the path is plotted by connecting each update. If the updates come every two mins, with non-reliable networks, it makes it very difficult to trace the exact path. In those two to four minutes, a vehicle might turn a few times or get into an accident. Now, with an unreliable network, critical pieces might be missed. Partnering with Verizon and IndusTrack will give you peace of mind so you can focus on your core business.